Please Don't Forget Me
by Ace Trainer Sarah
Summary: What happens when Tony and Kate get a second chance? Sequel to "Nothing Left For You". Follows that line.
1. Chapter 1

**Sequel to "Nothing Left for You". That should be read first before diving into this.**

**xXx**

"No, Tony." Kate looked him straight in the eye. "We are not telling Jane."

"That's more like it." Tony laughed to himself. Now she was sounding more like Kate.

"But we can't tell Jane."

"Why not?"

"How do you think she'd handle this?" Kate's face saddened. "We both know she'd be so hurt she wouldn't want to talk to me again."

"But it's not like you had a choice," Tony said.

"You're taking this a lot better than I expected." Kate's mind was running in different directions. "I don't think Jane would see it that way."

"You're right," Tony said. "She'll see it as you lying to her instead of you protecting yourself."

"That's exactly why we can't tell her." Kate was already sounding like her regular old self, in charge and ready to tell Tony what to do.

"Well, what are we supposed to say?" Tony said. "That _Tony__and__Maura_ deliberately disobeyed her orders to stay celibate and decided to be together?"

Kate stopped her fidgeting and looked at Ton's face.

Tony took the hint. "That is, if we are even going to _be_ together."

"Tony, you know I want to," Kate kept the sad, worried look on her face. "But will it work? We have Maura to think about. We have McGee, Gibbs! You can't tell them either!"

"Hold up," Tony said, putting his hands in the air. "You're talking about not telling Jane. That's one thing. But making me go back to DC with this hanging over my head and not telling Gibbs or McGee?"

"I can't let them know." Kate was stern. "I didn't even want to tell you. Tony, look how long I stayed quiet about this! If we continue to tell people, then it'll be a public thing. I… my _family_ doesn't even know."

"Kate, I can't keep this from them." Tony smiled a little bit. "Think about Abby! How happy she'd be to see you! She missed you more than any one of us."

"Abby…" Kate said her name like a small child, trying out a word for the first time.

"Yeah, Abby. She hasn't been the same."

"I figured she'd change the most."

"She changed a lot, but she wasn't the one who changed the most." Tony sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"Gibbs." Tony looked at her. "Gibbs is completely different. Only recently has he started to smile again. He rarely laughs. His past has been haunting him for years."

"I started all this." Kate was staring off into space.

"It's not your fault," Tony said. "You did what you had to do. No one can blame you for that."

"I know. But you still can't tell anyone. If you really need to, you can talk to Ducky about it…"

"Ducky knew?" Tony almost seemed hurt that he wasn't the one she trusted.

"He had to," she said. "He was the one with the body, he had about the body and whatnot."

"It was quite the elaborate act, wasn't it?" Tony said.

"It had to be," Kate said back. "It wasn't like I could just walk into the bullpen and say, 'Hey, I'm in danger, see ya'all later!' It could never work like that."

"Well, I guess so."

"Besides, it took me a long time to recover from the whole ordeal. Between the physical bullet in my head and the emotional toll of leaving everything I ever knew, I didn't know what to do." Kate kept her sad look.

"I know you keep feeling alone, but you're not now." Tony was trying to get her to feel better. "I _know_. I know you're _here_. I know you're here and you're _safe_."

"I guess that changes something," Kate said. "I… can talk to you. I can keep in touch, find out what everyone else is up to…"

"I'll tell you everything. What do you want to know?" Tony asked.

"Tell me about Abby. I miss her so much. We were so close…"

"Well, honestly, she never _really_ got over you." Tony shrugged. "In fact, she doesn't have many friends. She still bowls with the nuns. Oh, she found out she was adopted, and she has a biological brother."

"Abby? No way!" Kate was shocked. "Has she met her parents? Does her brother know?"

"I don't think she had the heart to tell him. Maybe she will soon. Or maybe she needs someone to back her up while she does," Tony said, looking at Kate with thoughtful eyes.

"You know, it's sounding better and better, going back."

"That's the idea."

Kate walked out of the room, with Tony following. They found themselves in the kitchen by the sink, not thirsty, but needing something to break the cycle of thinking about the past. Kate drank her water and sat herself up on the counter.

"Maybe I can do both."

"Huh?"

"Maybe I can… go back. See Gibbs and Ducky and McGee, hang out with Abby, and still come back here too. I just don't know if I should tell Jane." She swirled her cup around in her hand.

"You might want to just tell everyone. Maybe even all at once." Tony shrugged.

"How would I do that?"

"You and I could invite everyone here…" Tony was thinking hard; it was evident by the look on his face. "Or I could invite everyone to my house. That's it. I know everyone, since _Maura_ doesn't know the team. We'll get everyone in one place and we can just tell them together."

Kate smile at Tony's use of the terms _we_ and _together_. Years ago, she would have had to do everything on her own. She would have had to come up with a plan, execute it, and _babysit_ Tony all at the same time.

Kate had spent what felt like an eternity missing the old Tony, the Tony that was almost hers. Now that he was here, in front of her, and different, she decided it was okay to love the new Tony too.

"You grew up a bit," she said to him.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, in a good way."

"Just remember you said that when it comes time for you to do the talking." Tony grinned widely and playfully punched her in the arm.

Kate shook her head. "Maybe some things don't change."


	2. Chapter 2

One Month Later

Kate wished she could have gotten there first. She wanted to just run to Tony, to be with him, to be home. It would have made her feel better about the day. But instead, she had to travel with Jane. Come on down for my birthday, Janey, he'd said. And bring Maura along. Why? I liked staying at her place. It's a thank you. Nope, nothing more.

Kate also wished there wasn't so much lying going on, especially to Jane. She planned on being reintroduced to her former life, sure, but not at the cost of losing Jane. In the last years, she'd become an important coping method for Kate—when she missed her old life, and eventually being able to call her family.

Tony timed it so that he threw his own birthday party, as cocky as it sounded, and made sure Maura and Jane arrived first. It was mainly so that Kate could be at least reacquainted with Tony and the apartment first, before delving straight into her past.

Jane knocked on the door. "Hey, cousin!" Tony shouted, opening the door. "You know where to drop the coats off…"

"Yeah. Here, Maura, I'll take yours." Jane walked off down the hall.

Kate pecked Tony with a kiss on the lips. "This is really happening," she said.

"It is, so you better be ready."

"I'll try not to bawl, DiNozzo."

"That sounds like my Kate."

"So, where's everyone else?" Jane asked, coming back down the little hall.

"They should be here soon. Some sooner than others. Now-tiny Tim likes to be early."

Kate looked at him, puzzled. She was gathering that McGee must have lost some weight since she'd left.

"And what, he was fat before?" Jane asked.

"Kinda," Tony glanced at Kate out of the corner of his eye, and then turned. "I'm going to get drinks. What does everyone else want?"

"Just get me a beer," Jane said.

"Uh, soda will be fine." Kate sighed. That was how Maura would have said it. Not that Kate and Maura were really all that different—while sure, Kate might have been more outright with Tony since she knew him, if she really didn't know him, like Maura wouldn't have, she would have said it that way. Maura was just the young princess under Kate's skin. She had the opportunity to reinvent her life, and she just so happened to change to be her second profession. She'd always considered going into the medical field. The hardest part had to be pretending to not be able to fight.

Kate's thoughts were interrupted by the door bell. The door opened, and Kate's internal organs jumbled themselves into a mess.

Then a woman's voice appeared. She spoke with a slight accent and seemed to know Tony well.

"Good to see you too, Ziva."

As she walked inside, she realized that Jane and Maura were already there. "I did not realize that you had such pretty relatives, Tony."

"I'm Jane," she said, walking over, and shaking hands with Ziva.

It took Kate a few moments longer to walk over to Ziva. After all, this was the woman who basically took over her role when she left. "I'm… Maura."

Jane noticed the distinct pause between the I'm and the Maura. Tony led Ziva to put her coat in the back room, and as soon as he was out of earshot she turned to Kate. "You almost forget your own name?"

"It's fine." She sighed. "Just a little nervous, that's all."

"There's nothing to be worried about," Jane said. "It's just a bunch of Tony's friends that probably won't do much more than strike up a conversation with you."

When Kate didn't answer her, Jane shook her head and walked away. Kate then moved toward the couch, where she sat. The room was all too familiar. She remembered the nights she spent in this apartment, not that anyone but Tony and she would remember it…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock again.

This was it: Kate thought. I'm going to have to deal with them now. They're coming and there's nothing I can do about it.

McGee came in the door, smiling as always. He didn't look around much at first, since he knew the apartment. He handed his coat to Tony and then moved over towards the living room before realizing who was sitting on the couch.

He opened his mouth to speak words, but none came out.

"I'm Maura!" Kate said quickly, and a little too excitedly.

"You're…" McGee shook his head. "Sorry. You look like someone I used to know."

"It's fine."

As McGee turned to walk away, Kate inhaled and sighed. This was different than she expected. It wasn't as scary as she thought it would be, meeting everyone again—but she had yet to get to the difficult part—telling them that she wasn't actually 'Maura'. That was the part she was dreading.

Ten more minutes went by before there was a third knock. Kate held her breath as the door opened, revealing two older men.

"Mist'a Palmer couldn't make it tonight," Ducky said, coming in behind Gibbs. They both greeted everyone, with Jane introducing herself, and Kate as 'Maura, the girl sitting on the couch'. Gibbs moved his way to the kitchen where he was more comfortable, and made note to introduce himself to Maura later. Ducky moved straight to the living room, where he faced Maura from behind.

"Hello there, Maura, I'm Doctor Donald Mallard…"

"Come sit."

Ducky thought he knew the voice, but passed it off. "I hear you are a medical examiner…" he said as he sat down.

"I am because of you, Ducky." Kate said it quietly, turning to look at him.

"Caitlin?"

"Yeah, Ducky. It's me."

"What are you doing here? At Tony's house?"

"Well, funny story…" Kate sighed. "He's Jane's cousin. That's where they sent me in witness protection."

"But why did you come back?"

"Tony came to see me. We—uh, well, he… let's just say he figured it out." Kate looked back toward McGee standing by Ziva. "I'm going to tell them, Ducky. I'm going to come home."

"And what about your new friend, Jane?"

Kate paused and wrinkled her forehead. "I'm not too sure about that one yet."

"Well, the best of luck to you."

"Thanks, Ducky."


	3. Chapter 3

The door knocked for what would be the last time that night.

Tony got the door, and Abby was on the other side. Kate had missed Abby the most.

"Sorry I'm late, guys!" Abby was bouncy, as always. "I ran into a homeless guy on the way here and gave him a ride to the homeless shelter."

"Abbs, this is Jane, my cousin," Tony said, introducing Jane.

"And Maura is over there… Maura, come over here!" Jane yelled.

Kate was hesitant. She might tear up, seeing Abby again. But she listened to Jane. She kept her head down on the way over to where Abby was standing, and waited until she was right in front of her to look her in the eyes.

Abby just stared at Kate, her smile slowly fading away, her hand flying to cover her mouth to prevent some noise from escaping.

"Hello," Kate said.

"I…" Abby was tearing up. "You…"

"I'm—" Kate stopped what she was saying. She knew it was going to have to happen one way or another, and she didn't want to make Abby cry over nothing.

But before she could say anything, Abby threw her arms around her. "I don't care who you are right now," she said.

"It's okay, Abby."

Abby let go. "I'm sorry. You just looked so much like my best friend."

"I know." Kate smiled.

Tony interjected. "_Maura_, could I have a word with you?"

"Not right now," Kate said. "I have to say something."

"It's about time she said something…" Jane mumbled.

"It's more of an announcement."

Tony turned around to face away from everyone in the room.

"My name isn't Maura."

…silence.

Kate stared at blank faces. Abby had a tear running down her cheek now, while the others just gave her confused looks. Tony walked into the next room.

"I'm Kate."

She was met with more silence, but this time it was different. The silence wasn't indicative of confusion, like it was a few seconds earlier. While it showed slight confusion, it was more along the lines of thinking, processing.

Jane didn't move. "You're uh… Maura?"

"My name is Caitlin Todd."

Ducky inhaled, sighed, and moved into the next room. He would be in there in case anyone else felt the need to get away.

"_Kate_?" McGee said. His eyes squinted as he looked at her, trying to comprehend what was in front of him. They all were able to remember thinking that 'Maura' looked an awful lot like Kate, but no one could have seen this coming.

Abby was long over crying. Her face was wet and there wasn't any stopping it. Her face told everyone what was on her mind—she was both excited to see her and angry that Kate left. She had so many questions to ask and didn't know where to start. Some were accusing, angry, but others were kind and happy.

Ziva raised her eyebrows. "I'll go see if Tony's alright."

"But how?" McGee asked.

"I have so much to tell you all," Kate sighed. "It was witness protection. I didn't have a choice in the matter—I was out cold in the hospital. But later, later was when I stayed. They had me set up in a life in Boston, as a medical examiner, because of my connection to Ducky. He was the only one who knew. In witness protection, they send you there and even after the threat is gone—even after you killed Ari—they had me stay there."

Ducky looked at her longingly.

"…but they did give me a choice."

"They _what_?" McGee looked shocked. "They gave you the choice to come home and you didn't?"

"You guys have to realize that it would have been so hard for you to accept the fact that I was alive, when you thought I was dead. When you _buried me._"

Abby sat down on the floor. Jane walked into another room. "This can't be happening."

McGee took a step closer to Abby, and stood her up from the floor. Together, they moved into the living room, leaving Kate standing by the door alone.


	4. Chapter 4

Ziva walked softly up to Tony in the kitchen. He was obviously frustrated, with one hand on the back of his head and the other on his hip.

"She wasn't supposed to do it yet," he said, knowing she was there.

"You already knew?"

Silence.

"You loved her."

"She's still alive, so I believe it's _love_, without a 'd' on the end." Tony turned to face Ziva, an expression on his face that she couldn't quite read. "You've got quite keen senses, don't you."

"That was clearly a statement and not a question." Ziva walked right up to him, looking him straight into his eyes. "You were getting over it. You thought she was dead, then when you saw her it was the same as it used to be. Or was it?"

"Everything is…" Tony paused. He was going to say _perfect_, but something stopped him. _Complicated_ was a better term.

"Everything is not fine, Tony. Look at everyone else in the living room."

Tony moved to the doorway, seeing Kate still standing by the door and everyone else huddled in the living room.

"I don't know how to fix this."

"You shouldn't have to," Gibbs said, his voice coming from behind Tony.

"Boss, look, everyone's upset and—"

"No. You're not the one who left. Kate did, and she knows it. If she knew you were in here blaming herself she would be in here to stop you."

Tony sighed, defeated. "It never should have happened this way."

The three of them stood there for what seemed to be a long time. Tony was staring at his shoes. Gibbs was staring at Tony, and Ziva was staring at Gibbs, trying to figure out what his plan was.

"Maybe you should go check on her." Tony looked up and met Gibbs's eyes. "It's her mess but it's still a lot to deal with."

Tony walked up to Kate, sighing. "I'll walk you in. There has to be someone to stand by you."

"I don't know what to do."

**xXx**

"Guys, are you going to accept me?"

More tears fell from Abby's face. McGee wondered how she could have so much water inside of her.

"I know. But it's been two hours, and there's been so many questions asked. I'm not asking for anyone to make a decision. I just wanted you all to know now, but… I can't make any of you accept it." Kate sighed, sitting down.

"I can't believe you wouldn't want us to love you again," Abby said. It was the first time she had spoken since she arrived. "Kate you were my best friend. You'll always be here." She gestured to her heart.

"This is all great mushy stuff but I'm not happy." Jane threw her arms up. "I can't be here any more, listening to you be pow-wow-y with your old friends that I never knew existed." Jane left the apartment, leaving everyone silent.

"Should someone go after her?" McGee asked.

"No," Kate and Tony replied in unison. Kate continued. "Jane needs time to think our her own issues. Someone going along with her is just as likely to make her more upset. I'll talk to her in a little while to see if I can get through to her. Just not now."

Ducky stood up from the couch. "Happy Birthday, Tony. I must be going. Caitlin, please call. I would love to meet with you before you leave town."

Kate nodded. Everyone said their goodbyes, and soon enough the party had dissipated. Ziva quietly excused herself to Tony after Ducky left.

"I should not have come."

"Why not? It was just a birthday party."

"Because Tony, I never even knew Kate. This did not need to include me."

"Come on Ziva, you're not mad at this, are you?"

"I am slightly upset that you wouldn't have considered my feelings on the subject."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That I love you."

Tony was caught so far off guard he almost fell over. "That's not a joke."

"No, but you already knew that. I didn't realize you could be serious with any woman, but I was hoping to change that. You seem to be happy though. I'll leave you be."

Tony was speechless as Ziva left. Gibbs walked over to him.

"I'm surprised you didn't see that coming, DiNozzo."

"I guess… it makes sense now. I led her on. This was my fault, huh boss?"

"It always is, DiNozzo." Gibbs slapped him on the back of the head, then laughed to himself on his way to the door.

Kate walked over to Tony, his face still a mess. "What happened to you?"

He broke himself of the trance, turning to face Kate. "Nothing important," he said, and kissed her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN** Okay, guys! Only one chapter left. Then it should all be resolved... I'll try my hardest to get it done and uploaded soon, not like all the other things.


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